Welcome to the second edition of Star Watch, a weekly check on the biggest stars in women’s college basketball in 2024-25.
The season’s second week was largely lacking drama for the teams and players at the top, as AP Top 25 squads started the week 25-0 with a margin of victory over 35. None lost to an unranked team until Sunday when NC State and Stanford each fell to unranked teams on the road, though neither was an upset in the traditional sense as their opponents were favored by the sports books (TCU and Indiana, respectively).
Without further ado, it’s time for this week’s Star Watch (presented in alphabetical order).
Checking in on Paige Bueckers, Juju Watkins and women’s college hoops’ biggest stars
Raegan Beers, Oklahoma
Stats this season (3 games): 24.7 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 75.6% FG, 2 double-doubles
Games this week: Tue. 11/19 at Wichita State, Fri. 11/22 at UNLV
Earning national recognition: Beers was named the AP’s women’s basketball player of the week after her first week as a Sooner
Beers and Oklahoma played only one game last week, a 122-56 laugher against Western Carolina, but she stayed hot after a dominant first week following her transfer from Oregon State. Beers poured in a season-high 27 points in last week’s game, hitting a near-perfect 12-of-14 from the field while playing a season-low 20 minutes in the rout.
She’ll embark on her first road trip with Oklahoma this week, visiting Wichita State and UNLV. Next week the Sooners head to Las Vegas for the Ball Dawgs Classic, where they’ll face DePaul and then presumably their first ranked opponent of the season in either Duke or Kansas State.
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Stats this season (4 games): 21.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 2.3 bpg, 72.2% FG
Games this week: Sun. 11/24 vs South Carolina
A family affair: Lauren’s younger sister Sienna signed with UCLA last week (No. 2 recruit in 2025 class)
Betts has had to pick up the slack with last year’s top returning scorer (by total points), Kiki Rice, having missed all but 11 minutes of the season so far due to injury. She’s been more than up to the task as one of just three players in Division I averaging at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks so far (min. 3 games played). The Bruins will need her at her best in their only game this week, a Final Four caliber showdown with South Carolina Sunday.
Paige Bueckers, UConn
Stats this season (3 games): 21.3 ppg, 4.0 apg, 3.0 spg, 65.0% FG, 50.0% 3-PT
Games this week: Wed. 11/10 vs Fairleigh Dickinson
Flying south: Bueckers is likely destined for the Dallas Wings after they won the WNBA Draft lottery Sunday
Bueckers had an eventful and historic weekend, starting Friday when she more than doubled up the rest of her teammates with 29 points to carry head coach Geno Auriemma to his Division I record-tying 1,216th career win over 40 years with the Huskies. Sunday was an eventful day for Bueckers off the court as she learned where she’ll most likely be attempting to make her own history in the WNBA, as a member of the Draft Lottery-winning Dallas Wings alongside four-time WNBA All-Star Arike Ogunbowale. Bueckers will again play only once this week, on campus against FDU, as the Huskies look to push Auriemma one win ahead of Tara VanDerveer.
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Stats this season (4 games): 25.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 5.3 spg
Games this week: Sat. 11/23 at USC
Popular wherever she goes: Hidalgo and teammate Olivia Miles drew a loud ovation on the road Sunday
Hidalgo has come out of the gates on fire this season, outpacing her sensational freshman campaign by 2.4 points and 0.7 steals per game despite leading Division I in steals as a freshman. If she keeps her average above five steals per game, she’d be the first player to do that since the 1995-96 season, and she’ll get a chance to showcase her skills under a bright spotlight Saturday in a star-studded clash with USC.
Flau’jae Johnson, LSU
Stats this season (4 games): 23.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 61.0% FG
Games this week: Mon. 11/18 vs Troy, Wed. 11/20 vs Tulane
Another strong football opinion: after weighing in on LSU football last week, she offered her Heisman vote this week
As mentioned in last week’s Star Watch, LSU’s schedule offers very little resistance before getting into the teeth of conference play. Flau’jae and the Tigers rolled past Charleston Southern by a combined 191-104 margin while she scored 43 points in the two games combined and has at least 24 in three of four this season. Two more home games against opponents outside of major conferences await this week.
Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
Stats this season (2 games): 17.5 ppg, 62.5% FG
Games this week: Mon. 11/18 vs Little Rock and Wed. 11/20 vs Milwaukee
Scoring in bunches: Lee became the first D-I player this season with 25+ points in 16 or fewer minutes Friday
Lee returned with a bang in her first action since the first half of the season opener, scoring 28 points in an 86-68 win over Creighton despite being limited to 16 minutes due to foul trouble. The preseason Big 12 player of the year was the first player to score that many points in that few minutes against a major conference opponent since at least 2002-03 (can’t be searched further back). She’ll get a chance to bring her season scoring average, dragged down by her truncated opener, up in home games this week against Little Rock and Milwaukee.
Olivia Miles, Notre Dame
Stats this season (4 games): 18.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 6.8 apg, 55.1% FG
Games this week: Sat. 11/23 at USC
Possibly picked after Paige? Miles was recently heralded as one of the best guards in the 2025 class by Swish Appeal
Miles needed no time at all to adjust to playing with fellow superstar Hannah Hidalgo after the former missed all last season while the latter arrived on the scene. She returned with a triple-double, added a double-double in her last game, and is one of only four players in D-I averaging at least 18 points and six assists so far (min. 3 games played). In addition to her showcase this weekend at USC, Miles may spend years in the City of Angels with the guard-needy Los Angeles Sparks missing out on the top spot in the 2025 WNBA Draft, as she’d seem a more natural fit for LA at No. 2 than a frontcourt player like USC’s Kiki Iriafen.
MORE: latest women’s college basketball news
Sedona Prince, TCU
Stats this season (4 games): 22.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 4.8 bpg, 61.9% FG
Games this week: Thu. 11/21 vs Incarnate Word, Sun. 11/24 vs Idaho State
Streaks are made to be broken: Prince’s big game Sunday helped TCU snap a 24-game skid against ranked opponents
Former Oregon forward Sedona Prince is off to a blistering start to her fifth college season and second at TCU, most recently putting together a massive effort to help TCU earn its first Top 25 win in three years. Prince finished with 31 points and 16 rebounds, surpassing her point total from the previous two games (29) and nearly equaling her rebounding total (17) from those two games. She and the Horned Frogs rode that big win to the No. 19 spot in the AP Poll Monday, their highest ranking since 2008.
Sarah Strong, UConn
Stats this season (3 games): 14.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.7 spg, 2.0 bpg
Games this week: Wed. 11/20 vs FDU
High praise from the opposition: UNC coach says Strong is primed for acclaim on the level of Paige Bueckers
The No. 1 recruit in this year’s freshman class isn’t getting as much attention as superstar teammate Paige Bueckers, but she’s been sensational in her first two weeks of college action and figures to only shine brighter with time. Strong finished Friday’s win over UNC with 14 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks, joining Cameron Brink, Amanda Zahui B. and Elizabeth Williams as the only major conference freshmen with a 10/10/5/5 game since 2002-03.
JuJu Watkins, USC
Stats this season (4 games): 21.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.8 apg, 3.8 spg, 3.0 bpg
Games this week: Sat. 11/23 vs Notre Dame
You’ll be seeing more JuJu soon: Watkins is set to star in and co-produce an upcoming docuseries about her life
USC’s sophomore superstar isn’t scoring quite as much as she did last season, in large part due to a stronger supporting cast, but she’s still doing things no one has seen before. Watkins heads into Saturday’s massive matchup with Notre Dame on pace to be the sixth player in the last 15 years to average 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals a game, joining last year’s version of Hannah Hidalgo, among others. What separates Watkins so far are her three blocks a game, as the other five players on the aforementioned list each averaged 0.5 bpg or fewer.
